Freelance Equine - Trick Training and Horsemanship

15/01/2025

Hey everyone!

We love seeing you all have fun in our sessions, so thought it’d be fun to make a post just for you.

Drop a picture in the comments of your favorite moment from a clinic or camp – whether it’s you and your horse tackling a tricky obstacle, your youngsters first 'first' of something, or just having the best time together! More photos the merrier if you can't choose just 1.

Let us know:
🐴 What’s your favorite obstacle to do?
🐴 What was your hardest obstacle to conquer? (Or current ongoing progress!😅)
🐴 How do you find obstacles help you/your horse?

Show us your pics (tag a friend who might enjoy a clinic if you'd like, too!) 📸 🐴😊

Remember all our clinics can be found via www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

14/01/2025

Coming back into work after some time off doesn’t always have to be stressful.

I've really missed adventuring on Bam. He's just had 3 months off ridden work and he’s come back feeling better than where we left off. He’s back in work, off out to lessons, working at a level that matches his current fitness (so much can be done at walk, find your weaknesses there!). During his ridden break, we still focused on groundwork as usual to build on his collection and strength, along with a lot more polework than usual.

When I went to ride him in November to see how he felt after healing up from his accident, something just still felt off, even at the mounting block. I felt he didn't want me on him, despite him doing nothing untoward. He needed more physio/prescription exercise time to feel comfortable under saddle, despite veterinary investigation being all clear (who also believed me when I said something wasn't right and agreed with more physio referall).

When I rode him again end of December, nothing felt 'off' this time and sitting back on him was like home again. In sessions just before that, he'd already parked himself up to the mounting block a few times at liberty during sessions, unasked for, and staring round at me, almost as if he was offering the green light to be ridden again.

He has reinforced something important to me: your foundations should be strong enough that time off doesn’t matter and they come back as confident and ready to pick up where they left off mentally before. And your relationship should be clear enough to equally know when something is just not quite right.

Another thought he's reinforced, is to expect more and trust your training. Avoid projecting old behaviours into the future. If the training is correct and the body feels well, the right behaviour should follow. If you’re still seeing repetitive behaviours you don’t want, or worry over them happening, make changes—adjust your approach and address it directly. Don't let it become an excuse, carry on doing what isn’t working and just go unresolved. Training is consistency, foundations are consistency.

All training should help your horse cope with the pressures that we naturally ask them to tolerate for our lifestyle, and their physical well-being. The same groundwork foundations we put in, we should aim for ridden too. If these foundations are kept in mind, time off isn’t always a setback—it’s an opportunity to come back better.

If you're feeling winter blues, don't necessarily stress about giving yourself a break from riding commitments. If you're concerned about giving a horse time off - figure out why they don't do well with time off ridden and let that be your focus figuring out how to adjust. Let groundwork become an option, so riding isn't a chore. Make foundations through correct consistency, focus on softness, teach some tricks, load well, make day to day things easy or encourage confident learning through obstacles - just make your partnership easy.

All our clinics can be done inhand only and/or even just popping on for part of the session. Book onto clinics through www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

12/01/2025

It may have been a tad chilly, but it has been pretty too, which Clive captured yesterday morning.

11/01/2025

Excellent day at Truesdale Equestrian Centre again. Thanks all who came. Lovely work done today.

Next clinic 2nd Feb

Www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

10/01/2025

Beautiful boy captured by Sam Gostner Photography last Autumn

09/01/2025

Dates and venues so far for clinics and camps 2025.

Booking through:

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

Clinics:

✴️ LT Equine Veterinary Services ✴️ (Northamptonshire)
26th January Guilsborough/LT Equine Clinic - obstacle, young horse and private sessions

✴️ Pickering Grange Equestrian ✴️
(Ellistown, Leicestershire)
19th Jan
16th March
Pickering Grange clinic - obstacles, young horse, groundwork and private sessions

✴️ Truesdale Equestrian Centre ✴️
(Market Deeping, South Lincs)
11th January (1 young horse left)
2nd February
2nd March
Truesdale Equestrian - obstacles, young horse and groundwork/trick training

✴️ Shuttleworth College Equine ✴️
(Biggleswade, Bedfordshire)
8th February
Shuttleworth EC obstacle, trick training and young horse sessions

✴️ Naturally Light Equitation ✴️
(Preston Capes, Daventry)
16th February
23rd March
Naturally Light Equitation Daventry - obstacle/spook busting, young horse and trick training clinics

Camps:

✴️CHAPs Collingham Horse Adventure Par✴️
(Newark, Notts/Lincoln border)
5-6th July Summer camp at CHAPS
20-21st September Autumn camp at CHAPS
27-28th September Autumn camp at CHAPS

✴️ Aylesford Equine / X-Country ✴️
(Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire)
Day camps - 10th May and 7th June
Spring day camp at Aylesford Equine
Weekend camps -
31May-1st June Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine
14-15th June Spring Camp at Aylesford Equine

🔰 All information and booking via 🔰

www.bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining

Obstacles, trick training, combined sessions, private and young horses.

For anyone coming with a friend, booking onto other clinic dates at the same time or wanting to do more than 1 session, automatic discounts are applied at checkout - £5 off for 2 places booked together, £7.50 off for 3 places booked together, £10 off for 4+ places booked together.

08/01/2025

Like he's had no time off 🥰 Lovely to be back on Bam this year.

And Fireworks pinging his favourite poles.

07/01/2025

How's everyone getting on? 😊🐴

Your Exciting Equine Exercise Plan for the New Year:

''31 Days of Groundwork"

Kick off January with our revamped digital workbook, ''31 Days of Groundwork'', featuring a month-long plan of short groundwork exercises. Most exercises require just 15 minutes or so a day, making it an ideal solution for those who are short on time, not currently riding, or simply seeking some inspiration for groundwork that isn't just lunging or endless circles.

This plan is suitable for horses of all ages and experience levels, providing generally well mannered enough inhand. While it's designed for daily exercises across 31 days (with a weekly rest day included), you can follow the plan at your own pace if daily commitment isn’t possible.

Building on the success of our original workbook from five years ago, we've updated it with a range of new exercises to keep things fresh and engaging.

If you’re looking for a dose of winter motivation to strengthen your relationship with your horse in the new year, this could be the perfect place to start.

Please Note:

*This workbook is primarily a collection of exercise ideas, not an instructional "how-to" book. Whilst it offers some tips and guidance to support your journey, it predominantly serves as an exercise journal and planner.

*This is a digital PDF file available to download onto electronic devices, not a hard copy book - some clients have printed it off at home previously but it is 42 pages long.

*Some poles, cones and other basic equipment are required for some exercises.

Available to purchase for just £5.00 via:

https://bookwhen.com/freelanceequinetraining/e/ev-ssj6-20250131000000

(ignore the date - it's just a platform to purchase through)

Please share away or tag.

fans

07/01/2025

"It was him over there who ate all the cookies!"

Fireworks, pointing the obvious out.

06/01/2025

Ping! 😅

One 2025 aim is to do more raised polework twice weekly this year.

05/01/2025

From the other part of my work....though glad not wearing metal armour today 🥶😅

From a styled photography workshop at Historic Equitation with Salli Gainsford Photography back in 2022.

Photo by Andy Brooks Photography.

HE have some one day mounted combat clinics upcoming also.

First post of 2025. An image from a shoot a couple of years ago with a changed background.

03/01/2025

My 2 best boys, back in Autumn 🦄🐴

Sam Gostner Photography